Seattle Area Groups Mobilizing for Pit Bull Restrictions

Seattle, WA - Just hours before the brutal attack on Huong Le in SeaTac (just outside of Seattle), one of two major local newspapers, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, featured a cover story about pit bull advocates at an ice cream social event who had gathered to help "bury" recent proposals by Seattle activists designed to regulate pit bulls and other fighting breeds.

"Several dozen pit bull owners wandered through the downtown pet boutique, their muscular dogs sweetly approaching one another without the aggressiveness often associated with the breed."

Hours later, Huong Le, 71, was violently attacked in her front yard by two pit bulls. As Le's adopted son pointed out, "This was not a dog bite, it was attempted dismemberment. There is no way to describe the savagery and carnage." The next day, the Seattle PI declared their stance on the pit bull issue. DogsBite.org hope's Le's family avoids this publication at all costs.

"We don't know enough to be sure, but we seriously doubt a ban on pit bulls or any other breed would work. The CDC points to what it says are "many practical alternatives" to breed-specific bans."

Proposals Raised by Seattle Activists to Prevent Future Attacks

Fighting Breed Ban
Families and Dogs Against Fighting Breeds created legislation modeled after the UK's 1991 Dangerous Dog Act. It seeks to prohibit "new" ownership and tightly restrict "existing" ownership of the following breeds: Akita, American Pit-Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier, Bull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Cane Corso, Dogo Argentino, Dogue de Bordeaux, Juvasz, Presa Canario and Tosa Inu.

Mandatory Pit Bull Sterilization
As reported back in July, the founder of DogsBite.org, Colleen Lynn, submitted a 21 page white paper to the Seattle City Council that outlined the history of the pit bull problem from a national perspective, offered a detailed view of Seattle's pit bull problem and recommended 4 key options to consider (pages 13-14).

• Mandatory licensing and microchipping for identification purposes
• Liability coverage of $250,000 for victim medical recourse
• Mandatory sterilization to reduce attacks and pit bull euthanasia rates
• Prohibiting felons to own pit bulls

Related articles:
09/13/08: Coverage of the Seattle Area Pit Bull Attack and Activism

Labels: seattle